Wild 2016-17 Regular Season

[Bear55]

Ugly win but a win, Nino was awesome last night, Pommers with 3 helpers too. If him and Parise and Haula can pick it up just a little bit we could have 3 amazing lines and a killer 4th line. As it stands now I feel like we have two first lines and some great depth.

[CaptainMusky]

Well, Bear, Haula picked it up a bit on Saturday! Nice call! :-)

[hoppe56307]

 Seems like we get up by a couple and try to coast the last couple of games.

[Bear55]

I think the good news is we haven't look great lately but are still putting up wins, nothing wrong with that. Preds have been playing well lately and we were back to back so not going to get too concerned over that loss. Heck Kuemper even looked decent last night. CM Haula and Pommers have looked a little better lately. I am starting to hope Parise is still injured or something, he kind of looks like he is doing everything as usual but just can't get anything going. If this is him aging we are in trouble, lots of years left on that contract. Maybe just a bad season or fighting the puck I just don't know but something is off with him. The good news is we don't need a lot of out of him right now, just a little bit of elevated play and every now and then contributing on the score sheet.

Granlund and Zucker have been just crazy good, even without Koivu last night they were our best line, always dangerous.

[hoppe56307]

Tough next few games, tonight in Dallas then a home game against the blues, and the dreaded Canada swing should be tougher with Edmonton and Calgary back to back.  

 

I can see us going .500 over the next 2 weeks.

[Bear55]

Not going to worry about much until later in the season, we know they can't stay crazy hot forever and slumps will happen, just as long as they are too long I will be happy. I just want them playing really well down the stretch.

[bbfenatic]

Did Boudreau go into the men's room after the game and laugh his a$$ off then go into the locker room with a straight face?  I mean seriously...Chris Stewart?  With Granlund, Coyle, Nino, etc and he chooses Stewart?  Genius!

[BartmanMN]

3 hours ago, bbfenatic said:

Did Boudreau go into the men's room after the game and laugh his a$$ off then go into the locker room with a straight face?  I mean seriously...Chris Stewart?  With Granlund, Coyle, Nino, etc and he chooses Stewart?  Genius!

I was yelling for Stewy.  I actually was calling for him before Parise.  Stewy has been awesome in the shootouts.

[bbfenatic]

6 minutes ago, BartmanMN said:

I was yelling for Stewy.  I actually was calling for him before Parise.  Stewy has been awesome in the shootouts.

 

I agree Parise is a hack when it come to shootouts...no doubt.

Both you and BB are geniuses  

Stewy has made his last 3 in SO, 2 this year, and the one attempt Ducks gave him last year....overall he's like 20%.  I'll give BB tons of credit...he rides the hot hand and not afraid to cut ice time on those who are not up to snuff...thus we are on top in the West.

[Bear55]

Great all around effort last night, that 3rd line is looking better and if they can stay somewhat consistent against lesser competition we will be sitting pretty. Going to have to spend some money this off season locking up Nino and Granlund long term.

Coyle hasn't looked so hot lately but he seems to do this every year, I expect him to get his game back soon enough. Stall has cooled off a bit too but someone else is stepping up every night so it's not a big deal, such a deep team.

[hoppe56307]

I do not get why everyone is raging on Coyle, he has almost topped last year's numbers in half a season.

This years:                GP:48  G:13   A:25    PTS:38    +/-: +15

Last Years(full year):GP:82  G:21   A:21    PTS:42    +/-: +1

 

[bbfenatic]

I guess you are only as good as your last 10 games in the NHL and that is zero goals, six assists and only 7 sog...he does not seem as engaged in the play as of late...BB won't let him rest on is laurels from the past....he's got so much potential to control the ice when he's out there and make a big impact but he just seems to go lazy in stretches IMO.

[Bear55]

We are spoiled this year, nothing wrong with Coyle's production but something looks off, not a beast like he was earlier in the year. Maybe just a minor injury or a mini slump. Don't get me wrong, extremely happy to have him but he's just not passing the eye test right now. In all honestly we have nothing to complain about, first time really in forever a MN team could be considered a contender, along with maybe 6-8 other teams. We are just plain old good and you can point out about a dozen reason why.

[knoppers]

the entire team is contributing to the great play, they now have the confidence they need. I hate all star weekend, no hockey. I think all sports should just get rid of the all star games, no one cares! the only all star game that matters is in baseball, since its for home field in the world series. sorry I had to vent, no wild games this weekend, I work nights only get to see the wild is on the weekends.

[bbfenatic]

How much better is it going to be "coasting" into the playoffs versus playing our guts out at the end for a Wildcard spot?  Just that alone should make for a longer run IMO....BB's track record is not that good in the playoffs but time to turn that around.

 

As far as the All-Star Weekend.....scrap it IMO...only thing worth watching is the Skills Competition and even that is a little corny.

 

Did I just mention the Wild can coast into the playoffs??????? And from where I stood going into the season........  

[CaptainMusky]

BB, I think we all are a little surprised at the transformation this team has done this year. We have expected more the last 3 years and it finally seems to be coming together. MAYBE :-)

 

Still cautiously optimistic. We cannot afford long-term injuries and we need a few guys to pick it up a bit while others remain consistent.

[Bear55]

Agree on the All Star stuff, skills is still kind of cool but the rest of it is just bleh. Yep will be nice to not have to claw our way in, go on a 2nd half tear to get in or just watch Colorado implode and let us in like last year.

[CaptainMusky]

what a beatdown! McDavid who? He has 0 pts against the Wild in 3 games and Kuemper has 1! LOL

[Bear55]

Probably overdue for a stinker, we have been pretty darn good in back to backs up to this point. Keep on rollin wild!

[bbfenatic]

As expected Tuch up to try and light a fire under Coyle....kid has disappeared lately...Boudreau not going let Coyle get away with poor performance...he's proven he can be a stud but not consistent enough....and he is so important to our overall success 

[CaptainMusky]

I thought Tuch had a decent game Saturday night. Overall what a impressive game for Granlund. This kid has exploded now that he is on the wing. What a dynamic playmaker. That line with Zucker and Koivu is almost unstoppable. Even if they don't put up points its a great line because they don't give up goals either! Wow, very impressive.

 

The Wild now own the top 5 spots in +/- stats. Say what you will about that stat, but this team is certainly playing like they are the real deal.

Just think if Parise, Pominville and Coyle started going! Staal is even in a bit of a funk right now. It happens, but with the depth of scoring on this team it is always "next man up".

I wouldn't be surprised to see Fletch try and get a 3rd/4th line center. Graovac is not dependable on the faceoff especially when it counts and that is crucial when it comes to playoff time. He was putting Koivu out there to take the draw on Saturday night and then getting Graovac out with his linemates.

[Bear55]

Liked what I saw from Tuch too, a little raw but not a bad showing. I really think Coyle will be fine, he seems to do this every year, just have to wait him out and he will start scoring again. Staal slowed a bit as when Coyle disappeared, as long as they pick it up as the season moved on we will be fine. Parise is starting to look better and Pommer has been ok, we don't need a lot out of them so if they can provide some secondary scoring we will be in good shape.

A depth center would be great, someone decent with Stewart and Graovak playing wing would be a killer 4th line. Would love to get Boyle from Tampa, big, can score a little and has a lot of payoffs under his belt.

Edited February 6, 2017 by Bear55

[Bear55]

Great games by Dubs, Pommers and Nino last night, we didn't look good but won anyway. Have to eat my words on Pommers, he has been playing well lately and is getting close to matching last years point totals already. Him and Parise should be able to take advantage of other teams 3rd lines with a lot of defensive focus on the Staal and Koivue lines.

Jets are going to be a handful soon, their young studs are younger and scoring more than our young studs at the same age, the team just lacks a goalie and a little better defensive structure. Hellebuyck looks to be that stud goalie but is pretty young and learning yet, they will be a force in the next couple of seasons.

[leech~~]

They need to get their shot count up. 40-25 is not going to work for ever. Dub's can't keep holding them in games like this through the Play offs!   But, it was another good game.

[Bear55]

We have been getting out shot a lot this season, the way I understand BB's system is he has the guys passing up low quality shots outside shots and taking them to the net. So less shots overall but higher quality shots which can lead to more goals. Same on the defensive end, give up the outside low % shots but collapse and defend the middle of the ice. Whatever he is doing seems to be working but I see where you are coming from. It wouldn't be horrible if we were a little more dominant but it is also hard to keep that up over 82 games. We are going to lose more games down the stretch, teams are fighting for their lives and we have a comfortable spot at the top so I don't think we will have as good of a record these last 30 or so games. I just hope we start to peak near the end of the season because the fans are ready for a deep playoff run.